We are receiving lots of fur donations for our Cuddle Coats program and want to ship them to our wildlife rehab partners as soon as possible. Meet at the ARC office (co-located with Ethique Nouveau) at 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis at 6:00 pm to help prep fur coats and accessories for shipment. Wear clothes that can get a little fuzzy. This is a great, low key way to volunteer and meet some of the other people in the group while helping to save animal lives.

We are receiving lots of fur donations for our Cuddle Coats program and want to ship them to our wildlife rehab partners as soon as possible. Meet at the ARC office (co-located with Ethique Nouveau) at 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis at 6:00 pm to help prep fur coats and accessories for shipment. Wear clothes that can get a little fuzzy. This is a great, low key way to volunteer and meet some of the other people in the group while helping to save animal lives.

ARC In Action meetings are held every first and third Wednesday of the month from 7-8pm at our vegan store and ARC office, Ethique Nouveau, located at 317 W. 48th St. in South Minneapolis (on 48th St. between Lyndale and Nicollet). Everyone is welcome - you do not have to be an ARC member or vegan or vegetarian to attend. Come out, meet other people who care about animals as much as you do, and see how you can get involved. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail Chelsea at chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com.

ARC In Action meetings are held every first and third Wednesday of the month from 7-8pm at our vegan store and ARC office, Ethique Nouveau, located at 317 W. 48th St. in South Minneapolis (on 48th St. between Lyndale and Nicollet). Everyone is welcome - you do not have to be an ARC member or vegan or vegetarian to attend. Come out, meet other people who care about animals as much as you do, and see how you can get involved. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail Chelsea at chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com.

Stop by the ARC booth at the Midtown Farmers Market from 8:00 AM-1:00 PM on Saturday 8/8. The market is at Lake St. E and 22nd Ave. S. We\'ll be giving out info about how to go vegan and recipes for using all the veggies people get at the market, and talking to people about famed animal issues. Visit http://www.midtownfarmersmarket.org/ for more info.

Stop by the ARC booth at the Midtown Farmers Market from 8:00 AM-1:00 PM on Saturday 8/8. The market is at Lake St. E and 22nd Ave. S. We'll be giving out info about how to go vegan and recipes for using all the veggies people get at the market, and talking to people about famed animal issues. Visit http://www.midtownfarmersmarket.org/ for more info.

If you have to be picky about which protests you attend, pick this one from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Petland store at 2123 Old Hudson Road in St. Paul. Help send a message loud and clear that we are not going away until Petland stops selling animals from commercial breeders. Even if you can only come for part of the protest, please try to make it. The animals need you to help educate the public on their behalf. Invite your friends. Help us spread the word. Remember that we do not park or trespass in the Petland parking lot. Parking is available in the St. Paul Youth Services lot to the north of the strip mall. More info and RSVP at Minnesota Animal Rights Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Minnesota-Animal-Rights-Meetup/

If you have to be picky about which protests you attend, pick this one from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Petland store at 2123 Old Hudson Road in St. Paul. Help send a message loud and clear that we are not going away until Petland stops selling animals from commercial breeders. Even if you can only come for part of the protest, please try to make it. The animals need you to help educate the public on their behalf. Invite your friends. Help us spread the word. Remember that we do not park or trespass in the Petland parking lot. Parking is available in the St. Paul Youth Services lot to the north of the strip mall. More info and RSVP at Minnesota Animal Rights Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Minnesota-Animal-Rights-Meetup/

North Vegans will be hosting a Soul Food & Southern Cooking: Vegan Style cooking class on Saturday, August 8 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Parkway United Church of Christ, 3120 Washburn Ave. N in Minneapolis. This free cooking class is limited to the first 15 participants, and preference will be given to North Minneapolis residents. RSVP by emailing chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com

North Vegans will be hosting a Soul Food & Southern Cooking: Vegan Style cooking class on Saturday, August 8 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Parkway United Church of Christ, 3120 Washburn Ave. N in Minneapolis. This free cooking class is limited to the first 15 participants, and preference will be given to North Minneapolis residents. RSVP by emailing chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com

You\'ve heard about circus protests and the criticisms circuses receive for having wild animals in their shows. But what about the domestic animals? What about the announcement Ringling made about \"retiring\" their elephants in three years? If things are that bad, why isn\'t there a law against it? We\'ll go over some of the most commonly cited arguments so you\'ll be prepared to speak to folks who don\'t yet have all the facts. We\'ll go over the current state of animal circuses in the United States and around the globe, and we\'ll talk about local efforts here to raise awareness around both circuses and the exotic animal rides at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Event is at Augsburg Park Library meeting room, 7100 Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis from noon to 2:00pm. RSVP at Minnesota Animal Rights Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Minnesota-Animal-Rights-Meetup/events/223791631/

You've heard about circus protests and the criticisms circuses receive for having wild animals in their shows. But what about the domestic animals? What about the announcement Ringling made about "retiring" their elephants in three years? If things are that bad, why isn't there a law against it? We'll go over some of the most commonly cited arguments so you'll be prepared to speak to folks who don't yet have all the facts. We'll go over the current state of animal circuses in the United States and around the globe, and we'll talk about local efforts here to raise awareness around both circuses and the exotic animal rides at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Event is at Augsburg Park Library meeting room, 7100 Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis from noon to 2:00pm. RSVP at Minnesota Animal Rights Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Minnesota-Animal-Rights-Meetup/events/223791631/

The Animal Rights Coalition operates Ethique Nouveau; a vegan boutique, where all purchases help fund our animal advocacy programs, at 317 W. 48th St. in Minneapolis. The ARC office is located at the same address.

New Shakopee Pet Store Ordinance: Victory or Loss for Animals?

November 3rd, 2013

Minnesotans may remember the attention given to Shakopee’s Eagle Pet Center pet store when they were featured on the news because their animals were living in deplorable, yet supposedly legal conditions. The media attention sparked an outcry from the community and many local animal advocates who urged the Shakopee City council to adopt a new law that would prevent such rampant animal abuse by pet stores that sell live animals.

ARC has been protesting the Petland store in Shakopee for three years through our Minnesotans Exposing Petland campaign. We offered to provide ordinance language used by other cities which would have prevented these types of abuses. But the committee working on the ordinance wasn’t interested. Instead, they chose to include the owners of Petland in their discussions and allow them to help draft the new law, which allows them to continue with business as usual. Keith Streff, cruelty investigator for the Animal Humane Society (AHS) was also in on drafting the new law.
So nothing will actually change for animals bought and sold by Shakopee pet stores under the new law. Petland will still be able to buy from puppy mills and the only language about the humane treatment of animals in the new ordinance says that “All state laws governing cruelty to animals and humane treatment of animals shall be adhered to and all operations must enhance or maintain the health and welfare of all animals in the establishment.”

See the picture of the emaciated boxer pup accompanying this article. This pup was for sale in the summer of 2012 at the Shakopee Petland store. He came from Top Watch in Iowa, which according to the Humane Society of the United States, is one of the top 5 puppy mills in the country with 250 adult dogs and 121 puppies at one point in 2011. This puppy had only gained 4 lbs. in 5 weeks. A cruelty investigator from AHS responded to a complaint about the pup’s condition, told the store to put the pup on higher fat food, let him eat at will, and get him vet checked. When asked whether Petland was following through on the recommendations the investigator did not know, was not interested in going back to make sure the pup had been vet checked, and recommended contacting Petland directly for this information.

This is why the Animal Rights Coalition does not favor a regulationist approach to animal abuse. The new law is being celebrated by many as a victory for animals, when in fact it was a transparent attempt to placate those upset by the conditions at Eagle Pet Center by doing the absolute minimum needed to satisfy them and get them to go away. Eagle Pet Center closed its doors before the new ordinance was enacted, and as a result of the new law, nothing will actually change for animals bought and sold by Shakopee pet stores. Yet the impression left with the public is that “the problem” has been resolved.

ARC is a leader in the national campaign against Petland to get them to change their business model. But while most other groups focus exclusively on the puppy mill connection to Petland stores, we expand the conversation to include issues such as the problems inherent with viewing animals as products or inventory to be bought and sold, the direct relationship between the breeding of animals for sale and the numbers of homeless animals killed in shelters every year, and the impact of regarding animals with “papers” as more socially valuable than animals without a certificate. We encourage people to shop at pet supply stores that do not sell live animals as opposed to redirecting them to other big chain pet stores, because any time we shop at stores that sell live animals to anyone who is willing to pay the asking price, without background or reference checks, we are supporting a business that directly contributes to the killing of healthy animals in shelters.

This sad story is a good reminder to be critical when assessing anything presented as a “victory” for animals. Often these victories are not actually for animals, but for the benefit of people or companies trying to look good to animal lovers.